The commercial real estate market continues to be negatively impacted by the economic fallout, and as a result, delinquency rates increased for most commercial/multifamily mortgage investor groups in the fourth quarter of 2009, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Thursday.

According to MBA’s Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report, the 30-plus day delinquency rate on loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) jumped 1.63 percentage points to 5.69 percent between the third and fourth quarters of last year.

During the same period, the 60-plus day delinquency rate on loans held in life company portfolios decreased 0.04 percentage points to 0.19 percent, but the 60-plus day delinquency rate on multifamily loans held or insured by Fannie Mae rose 0.01 percentage points to 0.63 percent.

In addition, the 90-plus day delinquency rate on multifamily loans held or insured by Freddie Mac inched up 0.04 percentage points to 0.15 percent, and the 90-plus day delinquency rate on loans held by FDIC-insured banks and thrifts increased 0.49 percentage points to 3.92 percent.

“The ongoing impact of the economic fallout on commercial real estate markets continued to drive up commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquencies for most investor groups in the fourth quarter,” said Jamie Woodwell, MBA’s VP of commercial real estate research. “Continued job losses, consumer restraint, and a lack of household growth all sustained the pressure on commercial real estate operations and mortgages during the fourth quarter.”

Although delinquencies continue to increase, MBA said earlier this week that commercial and multifamily mortgages are performing better than all other types of loans. As DSNews.com reported, the findings from MBA’s latest Commercial/Multifamily DataNote show that the rate of deterioration for these loans is notably slower than residential mortgages and single-family construction loans.

To create its delinquency report, MBA analyzes commercial and multifamily delinquency rates for five of the largest investor groups, including commercial banks and thrifts, CMBS, life insurance companies, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac. Together, these groups hold more than 80 percent of outstanding commercial/multifamily mortgage debt.